CSR (MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships Day Two Report)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 18, 2011 (PART TWO)
 
MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships Day Two Report
 
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
 
By Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice
 
JENISON - The Calvin women’s swim and dive team have put themselves in prime
position to secure another conference title after a strong second day in the
water. With one day of competition left, the Knights have 556 points, 91
points ahead of second place Hope.With a good morning of preliminary races, the
Knights took full advantage of their opportunities to score points and placed a
number of swimmers in the evening championship heats. That depth across the
board for the women combined with some key first and second place finishes have
given the Knights a commanding lead in the meet standings going into the final
day of competition.
 
“On the women’s side we did it with numbers this year and that’s kind of a
cool thing to do,” Calvin coach Dan Gelderloos said afterward. “We continue to
have great swims all the way across the board and the women increased their
lead slightly on a day where they could’ve easily let that lead slip a little
bit, so that was a good thing.”
 
Leading the way for the Knights on Friday was sophomore breaststroker
Elizabeth Counsell, who took first in the 100 breast after coming from behind
on Thursday to win the 200 IM in dramatic fashion.
 
“I really felt like it [200 IM finish Thursday] came out of nowhere,” Counsell
said after the final events Friday. “I was just super excited going into it
and I just really believed that I could win the event, and I went out and had
fun.”
 
Counsell won the 100 breast with an NCAA III automatic qualifying time of
1:04.18 and she still has her best race, the 200 breast, to come on Saturday.
 
“She [Counsell] deserves every bit of it,” Gelderloos said of his sophomore
swimmer. “She’s probably having the highlight meet of the week, that’s for
sure.”
 
“It’s quite a relief just to know that I’m going to nationals [for the 100
breast] and it’s really exciting,” Counsell said. “For the 200 breaststroke
I’m excited because it’s my best event, but I’m trying not to pressure
myself into thinking that ‘Yes I have to win it’. I’m just going to go and do
my best.”
 
The only other first place finish for the Knights Friday came from senior
Monica Bressler, who won the 100 back with a time of 59.04. Calvin placed four
swimmers in that final backstroke heat as well, taking the 6-8 places along
with Bressler’s first place finish.
 
“Monica [Bressler] is swimming well but kind of doing it the hard way,”
Gelderloos said of Bressler’s win. “This year I think it’s not quite as easy
as she wants it to be but she still gets the job done and that’s a credit to
her.”
 
Second place finishes for Calvin included the 200 medley relay [Brianna Vanden
Ende, Libby Counsell, Caitlin Alexander, Monica Bressler] who finished with a
B-cut time of 1:47.48, the 200 free by sophomore Stephanie Fox who finished
with a time of 1:55.75, and the 800 free relay [Counsell, Fox, Shelby Cloyd &
Kendra Kinzer] who finished in a time of 7:53.10.
 
“It’s really good to have great team members who are really encouraging and
who are there for me to support me when I need them and to push me,” Counsell
concluded. “As a team we’re standing really well.”
 
With 556 overall points and leading Hope by a solid 91 points going into the
final day of swimming, the Knights will be back in the water again Saturday
looking for another conference title, keeping in line with the strong
competitive tradition that the Calvin women swim team has always been known
for.
 
The final heats tomorrow will begin again at 6 p.m.
 
DAN GELDERLOOS AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/11/Swimming/CALVIN_SportsInfo_TRK059.mp3

 
ELIZABETH COUNSELL AUDION INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/11/Swimming/ECounsell021811.mp3
 
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
 
JENISON - Calvin freshman Andy Krafft completed an historic two days of
competition at the MIAA Championships Friday night at the Jenison Aquatic
Center, capturing the MIAA title on the three-meter diving board with an NCAA
III qualifying score of 504.05 points. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Krafft
is the first individual in Calvin men's swimming and diving history to capture
both the one and three meter diving board titles at the same meet. He is also
the first Calvin men's diver to win the three-meter title since Dirk Pruis did
so in 1982. Krafft actually established a Calvin record in the prelims,
recording a score of 513.15 points, breaking the previous record of 508.45 set
by Pruis in 1982 which had been the oldest record still in the Calvin books. On
Thursday night, Krafft captured the one-meter title with a Calvin record point
total of 511.45 points. Krafft now owns all four Calvin diving records,
establishing new marks this year on the one and three-meter boards for six
dives and now also in 11-dive competition.
 
Krafft's efforts helped the Knights remain in fourth place in the team
standings with one day left to go. The Knights currently have a total of 365
points, trailing Olivet by 72 points. Kalamazoo holds the lead at 567 points
with Hope second with 542 points.
 
Krafft was one of three Calvin divers to score on the three-meter board as
freshman Jeff Brown was eighth (263.10) and freshman Lim Min 11th (208.75).
 
Calvin also had several strong swim performances on Friday night. In the 400
IM, Calvin was paced by sophomore Stephen Kraft who was third (4:14.59) while
freshman Peter Johnson was fifth (4:16.44).
 
In the 100 butterfly, sophomore Mark Rushlow took second place with a
season-best time of 50.83 while junior Greg Gorham was fifth in the 100
breaststroke with a time of 58.73. In the morning prelims, Gorham broke his own
school record in the event with a time of 58.57.
 
Freshman Andrew Mitchell also had a busy evening, placing eighth in the 100
backstroke (54.73) and 11th in the 100 butterfly (52.85).
 
In addition, junior Ross Battoclette continued his strong campaign by placing
sixth with a season-best time of 1:43.66.
 
In the 200 medley relay, Calvin took fourth with a season-best time of
1:34.42. The relay consisted of Mitchell, Gorham, Rushlow and Battoclette.
Calvin's 800 freestyle relay team of Johnson, Gorham, sophomore Kenton Cooper
and Adam Alexander took sixth with a time of 7:16.34.
 
"We had some nice performances tonight," said Calvin men's swim coach Dan
Gelderloos. "Certainly Andy Krafft was a huge highlight. He continues to amaze
and we are all extremely proud of him. I also thought we had several other
strong performances throughout the day. Our challenge now is to dig down just a
bit more for one last day."
 
Action continues on Saturday morning with prelims at 10 a.m.
 
DAN GELDERLOOS AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/11/Swimming/CALVIN_SportsInfo_TRK059.mp3

 
ANDY KRAFFT AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/11/Swimming/andykrafft021811.mp3
Received on Sat Feb 19 01:52:12 2011